The airline has stated that the further increased price of shipping cargo currently gives them enough money to continue with its passenger aircraft flights to key Asian markets even with the longer flight times. Therefore the carrier has promised to continue operations to both Seoul and Shanghai. However, the airline can no longer afford to keep the flights to Osaka and Hong Kong flying, so they've been axed, at least until the end of April.
From 10th March the airline will operate one flight a week to Shanghai on Thursdays. The Seoul service starts on 12th March and will operate on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. As the flights avoid Russian airspace, the duration of the services increases to between 12-14 hours, depending on the direction. Both routes go around the Russian airspace from the south, and the return flight from Seoul to Helsinki can also take the northern route.
“We strive to offer our customers connections between Europe and Asia to the extent it is possible in this challenging situation,” says Ole OrvĂ©r, Chief Commercial Officer, Finnair. “We understand how frustrating the situation is to our customers and are very sorry about the inconvenience and trouble the flight changes are causing them.”
Avoiding the Russian airspace on flights between Europe and Asia has considerable impacts on flight times, thus impacting fuel, personnel, and navigation costs. The airline is currently in consultation with staff to lay off hundreds of employees.
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